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Just started reading the book, and it already has a few nice bits for Black Templars players. 

Minor spoilers

 

Spoiler

The prologue finally shows the meeting between Helbrecht and Guilliman, which comes across as an interesting interaction. 

 

Chapter one is just after Helbrecht becomes a primaris marine, and reveals that the primaris were retrained from scratch as neophytes, so they're now every bit as zealous as the First Born, and the two have basically integrated into one chapter, to the point where they spar and train in mixed groups 

All in all, I'm pleased so far, and I look forward to seeing how things develop. 

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Considering it’s about a character I have no real affinity with or interest in, this was a very enjoyable read. It’s felt the shortest of all these ‘Character Series’ books and perhaps suffers a little for that. 
 

Heveran, the main setting of the book is fantastic though. There are echoes of Monarchia in that it is world razed to set an example but has a less-than-desired consequence. As with Grim Repast, Collins dials the 40k-ness up to 11- his depiction of this world and life on it is sparse but effective. 

I'm about half way through it now and loving it. I love that the book opens with Helbrecht's chastisement by Guilliman. Thought it was a really intresting way to start exploring the character.

 

21 hours ago, DarkChaplain said:

Is there anything on Helbrecht's time with Yarrick in there? The two were chasign Ghazghkull for quite a while, after all.

If there is, it’s brief enough to have escaped memory, sadly

3 hours ago, phandaal said:

Important question: is it written in first person?

No

  • 2 weeks later...

Just finished this up. Quite good for the most part.
 

The good:

Collins clearly understands Helbrecht and the Black Templars from a psychological standpoint. The story really emphasizes their religiosity and the intensity with which they view their role.

The prose reads extremely well. It’s not ADB or Abnett level, but definitely a cut above what I expected (Grim Repast was also very good but I don’t remember the prose too well). The writing feels consistent with the baroque madness of 40k without being bogged down in action sequences or endless description

The story mostly takes place on Hevaran, a ruin world. I don’t know if Collins created the concept or not. But either way it feels wonderfully appropriate to the setting. 

 

The bad:

The dialogue and some of the action could use a little more polish at times. Nothing egregious. Presumably that sort of thing will come with time. This is the author’s second book after all.

Like almost all the short novels the pacing is quite rushed. I think Collins does a better job managing this than Brooks’ did with Huron, but 30-40 more pages wouldn’t have hurt. Maybe it would give time to develop Helbrecht’s fellow Templars a bit more thoroughly. 
 

overall: 8.5 out of 10. The Black Templars are in good hands. Next to ADB I can’t think of a better depiction. 

Throughly enjoyed this book.  Characters were great, setting was very cool. Had a real good 40K vibe to it. New author who gets the setting well. Can’t ask for more than that. He handled the confrontation between Gulliman and Helbrecht really well. 
Much better addition to the character series than the Huron book, which I though was awful. 

 

Just read mine today. Highest praise for frater @Felix Antipodes to have sent a copy of the LE across the globe. May the God Emperor watch over you. 

I enjoyed the read, and I probably judged it too harshly, after all last book i read was by Wraight . Cheywood analysis is spot on, and I hope Collins keeps improving his craft.  

Overall I'm happy a book covers Helbrecth in more depth. 

 

Edited by Sete
  • 1 month later...

Helbrecht: Angry Gremlin of the Throne - Marc Collins

 

This was an interesting read so soon after Rogal Dorn: The Emperor's Crusader, and not just because of the Fists theme. It almost certainly comes down to personal preference, but for me these books demonstrated that execution is as important page space when it comes to the appropriate scope of a story. The Emperor's Crusader was vast in scope but was very economical in terms of focus - it read like it was a story always meant for a telling in 200 pages. Knight of the Throne is significantly smaller in scope but reads to me like 300 - 400 pages condensed into 200. I liked everything that was going on but there was too much of it at times.

 

Thinking back to Grim Repast, that story started slow but really came together in the second half - I couldn't help but feel that same amount of space would have worked better for Collins here too (and it's why any issues I have with this book don't dampen my excitement for Void Kings.) At half the length this just feels less cohesive. Nothing has room to breathe, and events that should have a greater impact on the characters (or should simply have taken longer) are sprinted past in favour of the next plot beat.

 

The opening chapter with Guilliman is great and informs Helbrecht's reflections throughout the story. Everything that follows ranges from good-in-concept-but-truncated to great. Hevaran is a brilliant setting as others have mentioned, and what it teaches Helbrecht tracks with that strong opening. There's no superfluous action in the story, which is awesome, but there are times when I had trouble following which side was doing what, and why. Helbrecht himself is the star of the show, and while I appreciated his introspection and found him interesting, like with Huron, I wasn't sure what special sauce he had over his peers.

 

The title character and the newly ascended Emperor's Champion planned to make their pilgrimage alone, and I kind of wish they had (with this page count, at least.) The Champion read like a plot device for most of the story, and while righteous zeal is the chapter's whole thing, more focus would have made him feel like less of an accessory. The other Templars didn't get enough to do to justify their inclusion, IMO. Again, 200-page problem.

 

Overall, lots of good ideas. It's an easy read that is sufficiently 40k for me, Roomsky, the arbiter of 40k-ness. It's just kind of messy. To Taste.

 

So far, we're 3 for 3 with the Character Series being "Good books that should have been longer." Prophet of the Waaaagh! Has yet to be beaten, in my esteem (and Shadowsun certainly won't, lol.)

Edited by Roomsky
SPACING!
50 minutes ago, Roomsky said:

Helbrecht: Angry Gremlin of the Throne - Marc Collins

This line may be my favourite thing anyone's ever written about anything I've put out.

Edited by Malkydel

Anyone catch Grimaldus’s helmet was said to be silver? If I’m not mistaken there was mention of another Templar  Chaplain that was Primaris that also had a silver skull helm. 

Edited by rookie40K
Missed word Chaplain

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